Bella POV
“Hello, my name is Steven and I have melanoma…”
“What the fff…”I whisprered groggily, rubbing my eyes as I shielded them from the hot summer sun that was beating in through my bedroom window. I was awoken by a commercial on my little 12 inch TV that sat atop my hand-me-down dresser. I must have left it on last night. I was so distracted by my thoughts about Sadie and Zayn that I fell asleep to MTV Cribs at about 3am. It was about noon now.
“Shit” I said to myself. I looked at my phone *5 missed calls – 7 new text messages – 2 new voicemails*
“Double shit…” Lucy, Kayleigh, and Cara had all called and texted me. Lucy had also left a colorful voicemail. I was supposed to pick them up to go make ‘get better packages’ for Sadie and Zayn. I never drive, so I offered to today.
“Bella.” My mom said bursting into my room “Get up, baby. It’s late. Oh and I still need you to pick up some groceries today. I have a headache.” She slammed the door again. She’d been drinking. Already, it was only noon. Triple shit. I got up and walked out of my room and into the bathroom. I texted all the girls an apology and told them I would be there to pick them up soon. I took a quick shower and just threw on a sweatshirt and yoga pants. I didn’t do anything with my hair; I just put it into a messy, wet bun. I would definitely regret that decision later. I grabbed my bag and quickly and quietly flitted down the stairs. The last thing I wanted was for my mom to start a drunken convo or listen to Carl (my stepdad) bitch at me about something. I snuck into the tiny kitchen in our condo and grabbed the grocery list off the counter. I walked past my brother and little step sister sitting on the living room couch, watching Fish Hooks and eating pudding. I smiled at them and paused for a second, once again feeling bad for leaving them here with the two worst ‘parents’ (if you could call them that) ever. I mean it’s not like they ever physically hurt us or anything, but, saying ‘they aren’t supportive’ would be a bit of an understatement. It was hard for me to blame my mom though. She wasn’t always this way. Ever since my dad died, she’d developed a drinking problem. She used to be a really good mom. My dad was killed in a freak accident. A robber held up a convenience store and shot four people. My dad being one of them. I was eleven at the time and Ryan (my little brother) hadn’t even been born. My mom was seven months pregnant with him. Carl did nothing to help. He wasn’t supportive towards her either. The only good thing he did by marrying my mom was brining Heidi with him. My sweet, innocent little step sister was nothing like him and I loved her. I was like another mom for her and Ryan sometimes. My life basically sucks. Whatever. Don’t cry about it, though. I sure as hell don’t.
“ImLevingNowMomBeBackWhenever.IllGetTheGroceriesDontWorry” and swung my bag over my shoulder as I grabbed the keys off the hook by the front door. I skipped down the front stairs and jumped into our hideous teal 1993 Saturn, starting it and backing out of the driveway, heading to Luce’s first.
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“Finally! Jesus, Bell I’ve been ready for like three hoursssss!” Lucy groaned as she hopped into the front seat. We went to pick up Kayleigh and Cara, who were both at Kayleigh’s house (as usual) whenever there was a crisis, someone was always at Kayleigh’s. We drove to the mall and Cara went with me to the grocery store to help me get the groceries I needed for my mom as well as some snacks for Sadie and Zayn. Kayleigh and Lucy went to the electronics store to get music, movies, and video games.
“Soooo,” Cara started. Oh god. What now?
“Yesssss?” I responded, nervous. I knew no one knew about my weird secret-friends-with-benefits deal I had with Louis, but I still felt nervous about it.
“How is Heidi?” she asked about my step-sister.
“Um, you know, she’s actually doing okay for now. The doctor said she wouldn’t need another surgery for a few years now, so, at least we’ll be free from that scariness for a little bit.” My step sister Heidi had a bone disease that caused her to slowly lose function in her bones. So, by the time she turns twenty, she will be in a wheel chair.
“I’m so sorry Bella.” She said to me, but not hugging me, or being too touchy-feely. She knows I hate that. She and the other girls knew a lot about me. And I knew a lot about them. We were very close. They had families of their own, but they were my family. Lucy was the closest, however. When my dad died, she was the best thing for me. She treated me differently than the other girls. She isn’t tiptoe around my emotions and treat me like a bird with a broken wing or something. It was exactly what I needed. We got everything we needed and headed back to meet up with Kayleigh and Cara. We drove back to my house quickly to drop off the grocery items and then we were over to Sadie’s.
